By Margo Kirchner Monday, June 17, is Wisconsin Women Lawyers Day, so proclaimed by Gov. Tony Evers to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first woman's admission to the practice of law in Wisconsin. Lavinia Goodell was admitted to practice law at the Rock County Courthouse on June 17, 1874, following a bar exam conducted orally in a courtroom by a judge and senior lawyers. Milwaukee County will honor its women lawyers in a ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday in Room 200 of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. County Executive David Crowley and County Board of Supervisors Chair Marcelia Nicholson will recognize female deputy corporation counsel and court commissioners, the Milwaukee Justice Center director, and other female attorneys working for the county. In Rock County, a ceremony and short reenactment of Goodell’s admission to law practice is planned for 5 p.m. Monday at the courthouse in Janesville. Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler is scheduled to speak, as are Dane County Circuit Judge Angela Bartell (retired), who is president of the Wisconsin Historical Society Board of Curators; State Bar of Wisconsin Executive Director Larry Martin; Green County Circuit Judge Jane Bucher; and Rachel Frost Starkey, a descendant of Goodell’s sister. Rock County Circuit Judge Barbara McCrory will preside over the ceremony. Milton Municipal Judge Kris Koeffler has coordinated the reenactment. A reception will follow at a Janesville wine bar. A committee of women attorneys has been working since mid-2023 not only to commemorate Goodell’s bar admission but also to celebrate Wisconsin women in the law more broadly. In addition to planning the Rock County event, members of the committee advocated for the governor’s proclamation and a series of articles in Wisconsin Lawyer magazine profiling current-day women in Wisconsin’s legal profession. Committee member Nancy Kopp says she came up with the idea of celebrating Goodell's admission to practice almost two years ago. “It dawned on me that there had not been a celebration in 1924 or 1974, 50 and 100 years after Lavinia became the state's first woman lawyer, and I thought it would be a shame to let the 150th anniversary pass without doing something to honor the occasion,” she told WJI. “It is very rewarding to be able to host a celebration of her admission to practice exactly 150 years after it occurred, in a courthouse that sits on the same site as the one in which she passed a bar examination,” Kopp said. Kopp first heard of Goodell in the 1970s and together with attorney Colleen Ball founded www.LaviniaGoodell.com, a website devoted to Goodell’s story and accomplishments. “I have been researching Lavinia for six years now and in addition to learning a great deal about her, I have also learned a great deal about the history of Janesville and Lavinia's contemporaries,” Kopp said. Kopp’s research into Goodell led to contact with descendants of Goodell’s sister, and several of them are expected at the Rock County Courthouse event. “While they were aware that Lavinia was Wisconsin's first female lawyer, they knew very few details about her life and have been very excited to see all the information that has come to life,” said Kopp. Committee members also have planned a special continuing legal education program on June 20 at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s annual meeting and conference. The program will discuss legal developments affecting women such as the right to practice law, the right for married women to have credit and own property in their own names, fair employment, and the Violence Against Women Act. Presenters include Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, former State Bar President Diane Diel, Elizabeth Fernandez, Martina Gast, and Kopp. On Aug. 8, Old World Wisconsin will stage a reenactment of Goodell's supreme court battle with Chief Justice Edward Ryan for the right to argue before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Back in 1874, attorneys were admitted to practice at the trial court level. Goodell found that practicing before the state Supreme Court was a separate matter. Her attempt to appeal a case to that court was rejected because of her gender. Goodell lost her petition to that court to proceed with her client’s appeal. Ryan infamously wrote in his decision denying Goodell’s application that “(t)he law of nature destines and qualifies the female sex for the bearing and nurture of the children of our race and for the custody of the homes of the world and their maintenance in love and honor. And all life-long callings of women, inconsistent with these radical and sacred duties of their sex, as is the profession of law, are departures from the order of nature; and when voluntary, treason against it.” Undeterred, Goodell found another route. She drafted a bill to prohibit gender discrimination in the practice of law, persuaded male legislators to pass it, and persuaded a male governor to sign it, opening the Supreme Court door to women. WJI profiled Goodell, her groundbreaking achievement, and her fight to argue before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in this “Unsung Heroes” post. Read more here. Earlier this year WJI called upon the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the State Capitol and Executive Residence Board to commemorate this 150th anniversary year with portraits of the court’s female chief justices and a bust of Goodell in the Supreme Court hearing room foyer. Goodell’s bust could be appropriately placed opposite Ryan’s. Text of Evers' proclamation: WHEREAS; over 9.400 women lawyers throughout Wisconsin pay a vital role in providing legal services to the public for law firms, private corporations, banks, insurance companies, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies; and WHEREAS; on June 17, 1874, Lavinia Goodell became the first woman lawyer in Wisconsin, pioneering a path for women in the legal profession across the state; and WHEREAS; despite facing institutional barriers, including being refused admission to practice before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1875 based on her gender, Lavinia Goodell demonstrated unwavering resilience and advocated for legislation that prohibited discrimination on the grounds of sex in admission to practice before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which was signed into law in 1877; and WHEREAS; over the past 150 years, countless women have entered the legal profession, contributing to the richness, diversity, and fairness of the Wisconsin and national legal system; and WHEREAS; women lawyers in Wisconsin have been instrumental in driving significant legal reforms, advocating for the rights of the underrepresented, enhancing the delivery of justice, and fostering an inclusive environment that values diversity and equality within the legal community; and WHEREAS; the state of Wisconsin recognizes the lasting impact of women lawyers on the fabric of the state's legal system and emphasizes the importance of continuing to support and promote the advancement of women in the legal profession; NOW, THEREFORE, I, Tony Evers, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, do hereby proclaim June 17, 2024, as WISCONSIN WOMEN LAWYERS DAY throughout the State of Wisconsin, and I commend this observance to all our state's residents.
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